CHENNAI: Chennai is staring at another oil spill after more than two tonnes of thick furnace fuel oil (FFO) spilled when a flexible hose snapped while discharging the oil at the Marine Liquid Terminal-1 at the Kamarajar Port in the wee hours on Sunday.
The oil spilled at the berth side after the Motor Tanker Coral Stars hose suddenly ruptured and caused accidental spill into seawater at 4.03 am. Kamarajar Port chairman P Raveendran told Express that preliminary estimate showed two tonnes of oil spilled into the sea.
"The emergency response mechanism was immediately activated and all agencies including Coast Guard swung into action," he said and added the spillage was confined to the breakwaters as fence boom was immediately deployed around the vessel."
The port chairman said, "Ariel survey was also done by the Coast Guard with the seaside reconnaissance by the interceptor boat. The recovery of spilled oil immediately commenced with the help of skimmers and absorbent pads. The recovery process will be completed by tomorrow," he said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard sources said they were ascertaining how much oil leaked. Two Coast Guard fast patrol vessels with pollution response equipment on board were deployed for combating the spill.
Also, senior officials from the Coast Guard Pollution Response Team (East), Chennai were deputed to the Kamarajar Port for an onsite assessment and guidance for port authorities to use appropriate spill response strategy while actively coordinating pollution response operations through the day. "We have also asked our dedicated pollution control vessel ICGS Samudra Paheredar vessel in Visakhapatnam to reach the spot immediately," said a Coast Guard official. Director General of Shipping Dr Malini V Shankar told Express that a probe would be ordered.
"The leak happened at the port side and it is being contained along the breakwaters. An investigation is on whether it is due to equipment failure or callousness of the ship," she said. D Sekar, member-secretary, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), said the board officials had visited the oil spill site.
"The furnace oil was received from Cochin for the BPCL, Chennai through the oil terminal firm Ennore Tank Terminal Private Limited (ETTPL). The spill is contained within 50 metres around the ship since the boom was deployed before the start of operation." K Satyagopal, Commissioner of Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation, said the Tiruvallur Collector had been asked to visit and see if there was any spillage and effect on fishes.
Director of State Fisheries department G S Sameeran said though the Kamrajar Port had stated that the oil spill had been contained, the State Fisheries Department has collected samples from the nearby fishing hamlets.
"As of now, there are no reports of death of fishes," he added.
State Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan yet to be okayed
This is the second oil spill within two years.
On January 28, 2017, LPG tanker BW Maple rammed into petroleum tanker MT Dawn Kancheepuram two nautical miles off the Kamarajar Port at Ennore resulting in massive oil spill that polluted close to 35-km coastline.
However, Tamil Nadu is yet to have State Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (SOS-DCP) in place. All coastal States are mandated to prepare a contingency plan under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and has an obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment.
It is to be consistent with the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP), which is the national plan for the response to an oil spill of any size. Unfortunately, Tamil Nadu, though highly prone to oil spills, doesn't have an approved SOS-DCP.
BR Subramanian, former advisor for Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and senior scientific consultant for the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), headed a committee, drafted the plan in September 2016 and later, revised it post-Chennai oil spill.
When contacted, A Udhayan, director, Department of Environment, told Express that the final draft plan had been accepted by the State and forwarded to the Coast Guard, Delhi for approval. Putting in place such a plan is critical because it provides all details about preparedness required to meet oil spill eventualities and equips the State to combat the spills without loss of any time.
Meanwhile, IIT Madras has also prepared an independent oil spill contingency plan and submitted it to the TNPCB. S Mohan, associate professor in Environment and Water Resources, Department of Civil Engineering, said: "I have submitted the report to the TNPCB and do not know what action has been taken."